In Time
by GreenBinderGirl
Summary: [Lee x Gaara] Kankurou said that he'll find it, in time.


**Quick Author's Notes:** Fanfiction dot net was down last night so I couldn't upload this TT.TT

**In Time**

Gaara had never been hugged before. Not _really_. Sometimes his siblings would gingerly wrap their arms around his shoulders, an act that told Gaara that they cared but were too frightened to even touch him.

Gaara's seen people hug before. A man, a woman. Holding hands, embracing, leaning against each other. In secluded areas where no one—save Gaara—could find them. A secret haven of sorts. Gaara often intrudes upon these havens, but stealthily, in desperate acts to understand what it all _means_.

But the more he watches, the more confused he gets.

Kankurou could not tell him, when he asked. What he _did_ say made no sense.

"It's…well, sort of a warm feeling in your chest, okay?" He'd said. "And whenever that person is around, or when you think of them, you feel happy and…and complete." It was here when he stopped and glanced at the photograph of a brown-haired girl wearing a Chinese dress on his desk. He had an odd look in his eyes--a sort of sadness, mixed with longing, and something else Gaara did not recognize.

"I don't understand," Gaara had said.

"You will," Kankurou assured him. "You'll find it. In time." He sounded pensive and Gaara sensed that he didn't want to talk anymore.

In time. Time had passed. Years. How long did he have to wait until he "found it"? And when he found it, would he be able to know what it was?

* * *

Konohagakure, in the wintertime: extremely cold and extremely beautiful. And extremely _white_. The glare caused by the pale sun stung Gaara's sensitive eyes. Everywhere he looked was bright, shining light. A harsh wind whipped his ears, cutting through his Kazekage robes and deep into his skin, into his bones. 

Gaara groaned slightly, and leaned against the wall of a building, slowly slipping down to rest his sore head on his knees. Snow didn't look too different from sand, why was it so cruel to the _master_ of sand, to _Gaara of the Desert_?

"Gaara-sama?" A surprised, familiar voice questioned. "What are you doing here?"

Gaara's head snapped up and he saw Rock Lee standing before him, bundled up in warm winter clothing. Lee knelt down so that he was eye-to-eye with him.

"Is something wrong?"

He was so worried, why was he so worried? Shouldn't waste his breath.

"I'm fine," Gaara muttered. "I…I wanted…_needed_…t-t-to see y-you."

His teeth were chattering and his body shivered violently. Lee pressed a gloved hand to Gaara's forehead, his pinky brushing the everlasting kanji symbol.

"You're warm, I think you have a fever," he said.

"Warm? I'm not warm, I'm _freezing_," Gaara ground out, his teeth gritted to try and stop the chattering. "My whole body feels numb."

Lee frowned. It was obvious that Gaara was exhausted. The boy was knackered. Hesitantly he touched the side of Gaara's head, but quickly brought his hand back when Gaara flinched and shrunk back with fear. Surprisingly, the gourd had not accompanied him on this journey to see Lee, so the telltale wave of sand did not come.

Gaara looked almost like a scared little mouse. It was so wrong, that someone who yearned for contact so much was so frightened by it. Before Gaara could flinch away again, Lee had brought Gaara to his feet and pressed his body close.

"Why did you come so far during winter, wearing only your Kazekage robes, just to see me…?" Lee asked, his arms encircling the shorter boy's waist tightly. "Why…?"

"K-Kankurou told me," Gaara whispered, "that in time I-I will find something. T-That I will _understand_." He snuggled into Lee's coat, desperate for the insatiable warmth Lee offered. He'd never felt heat like this before, not in the desert, and not with himself.

"Understand what?"

"_Love_." His voice was hoarse. "_I want to understand love_. A-After I met Naruto…I-I was thinking…a-and…I've never hugged someone, never been kissed, never…never. I-I want to…but I don't know what it means or what it feels like…my siblings couldn't tell me, _no one_ could tell me…" Gaara gulped and felt embarrassed when hot tears slipped down his face. Hot. They were hot, warm, just like Lee.

"…I'm sorry," Gaara whispered, voice breaking.

"…What are you sorry for?" Lee asked, smiling gently. "It isn't a crime to want to know how to love."

"Then…could you teach me?"

"It's not the kind of thing you teach someone." Lee laughed. "But I can show you."

And without hardly any warning, he cupped Gaara's chin with his gloved fingers, bringing his face closer to Lee's own, and pressed a small, loving, perfect kiss to his chapped lips.

A spark erupted, and Gaara felt something in his chest. Something that spread through his body and made him feel…what was the word? _Happy_. _He was happy. Gaara was happy._

He now understood what Kankurou had meant, so long ago. In time, he had found it.

**Author's Notes:**

Knackered. I JUST FRICKEN' LOVE THAT WORD, MAN. I'm gonna use it from now on XD

Please review, I guess? o.O For once, I think I have nothing to say…odd…and I'm usually full of rants about my one-shots…hmm…**-strokes chin thoughtfully-**


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